


Cherry

by writinqwronqs



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writinqwronqs/pseuds/writinqwronqs
Summary: songfic based on Cherry by Harry Stylesit's a *drumroll pls* coffee shop AUthe conflict is MINORthe story is FLUFFYthe gays are GAY
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> it's a coffee shop AU, so original. v light on trauma, v heavy on fluff because the world is already hard.

_Don’t you call him “baby”/ we’re not talking lately/ don’t you call him what you used to call me_

Catra stepped out from her apartment, jangling her keys loudly as she locked the door behind her. The sun shone brightly above her but the air was brisk, a slight chill seeping in under her faux leather jacket. The weather wasn’t surprising for March in Bright Moon, and Catra fought a shiver. She had known it would be cold, but she was _so over_ puffy coats and mittens and scarves and other bulky (highly unfashionable) winter gear.

She jogged quickly down the steps of her apartment complex and squinted in the sunlight, trying to remember where she had parked her car.

\--

Once Catra arrived at work she quickly threw her apron over her head and punched in, plastering a fake smile on her face. She tapped a few buttons on her register and then, with no one in line, looked around the small café.

In the past couple of years Plumeria had become like a second home to her. Perfuma, her roommate Scorpia’s girlfriend, had taken a chance on Catra at Scorpia’s insistence. Catra had worked hard to prove herself and was now one of the best baristas on the small staff (no one would ever be as good as Perfuma).

As she glanced around she noted the small groups of people currently lounging, studying, working, not working but pretending to, and found her gaze drawn to one person in particular. A blonde, facing away from her and towards the bright and plant-lined windows. Catra watched her shoulders, visible through her tight, white, sporty looking shirt, move as she typed away furiously at something. Catra couldn’t see her face but she would bet it was gorgeous.

So distracted was she that she didn’t notice the customer staring at her and waving their hand in front of her face.

“Um, hello?”

Catra startled and found herself looking at an, objectively, very handsome guy. His dark, curly hair was shorn close at the sides, and he wore a crop top that showed off his ridiculously toned abs. Catra had never seen him before, but that wasn’t surprising. Plumeria was located in downtown Bright Moon, so tens of new people walked through the door every day. What was surprising was how gently and kindly he was looking at her.

Catra regained her composure and blinked slowly at him.

“What can I get for ya?”

“Oh, um. Well, I was hoping you could help me with that,” Crop Top replied, smiling bashfully.

“Uh, yeah, sure. What do you usually like? We have lots of tea, coffee, some kinda fruity blended stuff. What are you in the mood for?”

He hummed, gears clearly turning behind his smooth, brown forehead.

“I usually like sweet stuff. Also, I _neeeeed_ caffeine to make it through the rest of the day. I like coffee more than tea, but tea is fine, too.”

Catra eyed him carefully, as though she was trying to find something in his deep, tree ring eyes. Then she clapped her hands loudly, startling them both out of their little reverie.

“Alright, Crop Top, go wait at the other end of the counter and I’ll have something right out for you.”

“It’s Bow,” Crop Top said, but he smiled happily. “How much do I owe you?”

“Well, let’s see if you like it first,” Catra said. She knew Perfuma wouldn’t mind if she messed up a drink or two, she was like the single most forgiving person in the world.

She got to work making Bow’s drink and within a couple minutes was sliding it across the counter to him. He picked it up, the excitement clear in his eyes, and took a sip. Catra felt like the face he made next was something she’d never seen outside of a cartoon. His eyes had stars in them (figuratively, of course… but also…) and he was smiling so brightly Catra almost shielded her eyes.

“YUM,” he said. “What is this magical heaven liquid?”

Catra tried to push down a blush. It was just a coffee after all. “It’s a brown sugar and cardamom latte. I added an extra pump of syrup so it’d be extra sweet. You like it?”

“I _love_ it,” he said, his voice still sounding so full of awe. “How much?”

Catra is tough. She is gruff. She is standoffish and should not be in customer service as evidenced by her background of quick fires and in some cases full on bans from the premises of her previous workplaces. And yet.

“It’s on the house. Just… yeah. Enjoy it.” She says, kind of floundering and petering out at the end.

Bow looks like he’s going to cry but he just nods and thanks her profusely before walking toward… the table with the blonde. As he approaches blondie turns her head, just enough for Catra to see her face as he leans in to give her a long hug and a peck on the cheek.

Adora.

It’s been, what? 10 years, now? But Catra would recognize Adora anywhere. The years have changed her, of course, and she’s no longer the too tall 14 year old, all gangly limbs and tripping feet. She’s. Well, she’s gorgeous. She stands up to hug Crop Top more fully and Catra takes a moment to admire her. She’s filled out. Her body seems to be made of pure muscle, and she’s probably got at least 6 inches on Catra now. They used to be pretty close in height, although Adora was always a little taller. Catra catches just a glimpse of Adora’s eyes, deep and piercing blue, a color Catra could never forget. Adora returns to her seat and Catra takes care of a few random customers who come in.

As soon as she’s finished, Catra returns to admiring Adora from afar. And then she notices Bow and Adora’s hands linked across the table as he leans in conspiratorially to say something that makes Adora throw her head back in laughter, her still dorky laugh ringing out in the small café.

The joy flooding Catra’s system turns to ice cold jealousy. Of _course_. Of course, model-attractive, bright smile, free kindess Crop Top is Adora’s boyfriend. She shouldn’t be surprised, has no right to be hurt, but she feels like she’s been kicked in the gut.

Adora.

The girl she spent her entire childhood _obsessed_ with. The girl who left her. Adopted right out from under Catra’s nose, leaving her with Shantel (Shadow, as they had called her) Weaver in the crumbling foster home they had shared for 9 whole years.

She had said she would call. She would write. She would never forget Catra. And yet.

And now, here she sits. Very much a ghost from Catra’s past. Canoodling with her _boyfriend_ in a warm and sunny café like her very presence hasn’t shaken Catra to her core. The door jangles as another customer walks in and Catra shakes her head to clear it. She’ll keep an eye on the 2, make sure she’s suspiciously absent from the till as they pack up their things, make sure that Adora never sees her. Never knows how close she came to the past she so willingly left behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeee thanks to the few folks who commented and gave kudos on my last chapter!

_I, I confess I can tell that you are at your best/ it’s selfish and I’m hating it_

It’s lunchtime. Well, actually, it’s far past lunch time and well into the afternoon. Adora checks her watch. _3 already?_ She sighs and closes her laptop gently, tucking it in to her backpack and standing to stretch from her seat in the library. It’s quiet here, and she appreciates that. Her own apartment is a constant whirlwind of people in and out. Sure, it’s only her and Glimmer who live there, but their gaggle of friends are always coming over unannounced. She loves her friends, truly, but it’s a bit of a struggle to settle in for a long study session with all of the noise and movement.

She steps outside of the library, the early April sun fading already, clouds moving in to cover it. She shivers a little and plops down on a bench, unwrapping her sandwich and scarfing it quickly, washing it down with a few solid gulps from her water bottle. The midafternoon slump is hitting her and she realizes that she might not make it through her evening lab without a little pick me up. She opens her map app and punches in the address of the little coffee shop Bow had suggested they meet at the week prior. It was even closer to campus than she had realized at the time, only about a ten minute walk. She pulled her windbreaker from her bag and threw it over her shoulders, following the little blue arrow on her map.

\--

Adora arrived at Plumeria around 3:45, meaning it was pretty empty. The shop itself closed at 5, so she assumed she would be one of the last few people to trickle in. There was no one at the till when she walked in, likely in the back getting more cups or something, she assumed, so she found a comfy chair and tossed her backpack on it to save it while she headed back up to get in line.

 _Perfect timing_ , she thought, as a head of shiny brown curls emerged from the back right as she walked up. And then-

“Catra?”

Catra, for her part, had the good sense to look less shocked than Adora probably did. Adora watched as she quickly schooled her features into a mask of calm, a small smirk gracing her lips. She was more beautiful than Adora remembered. The years had been more than kind to her, her face no longer round and kiddish, but almost sharp in it’s beauty. Freckles still smattered across her cheeks, sweetly enhancing the smooth curve of her nose, upturned just a little at the end. _Gorgeous_. It was all Adora could think, _simply gorgeous_.

“Hey, Adora.”

Adora hoped in that moment that no one else would ever say her name. It would just pale in comparison to the way it scratched its way out of Catra’s throat.

“I… I, um. Hey. Um. Hi?” she tried. Catra laughed, her perfect little squeaky laugh not doing anything to settle Adora’s pounding heart.

She looked… good. Happy. Adora had never seen Catra looking so light. When they were kids it was all struggle. They held tight to one another, then, both trapped in the flames, just trying to survive. There was no time, really, to find Catra pretty. Although Adora did. Just in secret.

Catra seemed to settle down and was now just looking at Adora expectantly.

_Right. Coffee shop. Order. Coffee. You can do this, Greyskull._

“Ahem, sorry,” Adora started, a hair sheepishly. She could feel her face burning cherry tomato red. “I’ll get a, um, coffee?”

_Way to go, Adora. A coffee._

Catra raised her eyebrows slightly but seemed unperturbed by Adora’s absolute lack of chill.

“Sure thing,” she said, leaning away to grab a cup and write Adora’s name on it. Catra moved behind the espresso machine and started pouring milk and pressing buttons.

“Oh, shoot. I’m um, I’m lactose in-“

“Lactose intolerant? I know, genius, this is oat milk,” Catra said, as though her remembering this about Adora is no big deal. As though Adora hasn’t been missing her, every day, for nearly 10 years.

“How have you been?” Adora tries. She doesn’t know what she’s expecting, really. Actually, she does. She’s expecting Catra to bristle and hiss and run and hide, just like she had when they were kids and situations got uncomfortable.

Catra squints at her quizzically, the light shining in her blue and amber eyes, and seems to soften.

“It was rough, Adora,” she says, tiredly. “After you left my last few years with Weaver were… well, you can probably imagine. Without you there she…” Catra hesitates here, eyes clouding over before she seems to snap out of it a little and looks back to Adora. “Well, you were always her favorite, right?”

Adora’s chest tightens. She wants to ask why Catra refused her calls. Why she never wrote her back after Adora sent her countless letters. Instead she says “I missed you.”

Catra looks surprised at this, but all she says back is “yeah, me too.”

Catra finishes making Adora’s coffee and passes it over the counter to her. “On the house,” she says, looking Adora square in the eyes. And then she turns away quickly, pushing open the door to the back of the shop. Another person is at the till now, a bubbly blonde whose voice sounds like she’s singing. Adora settles into her chair, even comfier than it had looked, and sets to studying. She finds herself staring longingly at the counter, hoping for a glimpse of Catra. For her to come back out so that Adora can… do something. Get her number? Ask her… ask her… what? If she wants things to be how they were when they were kids? That’s not really possible, nor was that time in their life the healthiest for anyone involved.

Adora doesn’t have to figure out which question would be best to ask Catra because she doesn’t see her again. 5 o’clock comes and Adora packs her things up and leaves.

\--

That night Adora lays in bed, thinking of Catra. She had truly thought she might never see her again. Her mind wanders and as she falls asleep she finds herself feeling almost bitter. Catra seemed good. She seemed happy. And Adora had had no part in that. The thought plagues her as she drifts off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks again for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flashbacks and baby catradora angst ahead

_I noticed that there’s a piece of you in how I dress/ take it as a compliment_

Catra yawned loudly as she stretched herself awake. She could hear Scorpia puttering around their small kitchen, likely making them both something amazing for breakfast.

_I don’t deserve her._

The thought came to her unbidden. Catra hated thoughts like that, thoughts that she heard in Weaver’s voice more than her own. She threw her covers off and set about getting ready for the day. It was her day off and she was glad for it. After having seen Adora up close yesterday and then _hiding_ from her in the back for the last hour of her shift she needed some space from the coffee shop.

After brushing her teeth and throwing on a worn and cozy shirt and some ripped black jeans she made her way into the kitchen.

“Morning, Wildcat!” Scorpia said, the human embodiment of a giant puppy. Catra allowed herself to be pulled into a warm, solid hug, something that was becoming easier and easier over time. She shoved away fondly as Scorpia ruffled her messy curls.

“Sweet bedhead,” she laughed, turning back to what looked like flipping pancakes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra said, trying to sound annoyed but mostly failing. “Well, I don’t have work today, so no use trying to wrangle the beast.”

Scorpia laughed good naturedly as she turned around and plopped a stack of pancakes in front of Catra. Catra could feel her mouth watering and she tried to be as genuine as possible when she thanked Scorpia. Scorpia seemed to get it, smiling fondly and already pouring syrup all over her own towering stack of pancakes.

\--

20 minutes later Catra made her way over to their sofa, very, very full and very, very content. She flicked on the tv but found herself not even watching. She was picking listlessly at a loose thread in the hem of her shirt when she was hit with a memory.

***

_Adora wasn’t home yet. It was strange. She was usually home by now, even when her soccer practices ran late. Catra had no way to get in touch with her since Weaver didn’t believe in cell phones. Said they were a waste of money and that they rotted kids’ brains. Catra made her way out of her and Adora’s shared room, the one they also shared with Lonnie and Octavia, 2 bunk beds shoved into the tiny space. She made her way downstairs and was shocked to see Adora in the living room, a tall woman with almost silvery purple hair and a shorter, very kind looking man standing behind her._

_“Catra.”_

_Catra hoped. She hoped that this wasn’t what it seemed like. Adora was 15 for pete’s sake, and Catra was 14. They had long since resigned themselves to being permanent fixtures in the Weaver Foster Home, lifers, kids who were never adopted and rode out their time in foster care until they were 18._

_“Adora,” she said, her voice sounding shaky even to her own ears._

_“Well,” came a voice from behind her. A hand gripped her shoulder more tightly than was necessary, a warning. “I think it’s about time you all get going, wouldn’t you say? After all, I know Adora will have a lot of settling in to do. Adora, you will be so dearly missed.”_

_Catra felt tears stinging in her eyes and a burning in her throat. She wanted to scream, to beg Adora to take her, too. Not to leave her behind._

_Adora’s eyes were watery as she stepped forward and opened her arms to Catra. Weaver, not wanting to appear evil to their guests, apparently, released her death grip on Catra’s shoulder._

_“I’ll never forget you,” Adora said as they crashed into one another and held on for dear life. “I’ll write and call. And you can come visit me, okay? I promise.”_

_Catra only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Too soon Adora was pulling away. And then she was gone._

_Catra pushed past Weaver, ignoring her angrily berating her for her insolence, and ran into her room. Lonnie and Octavia were nowhere to be seen, likely outside wandering around with Kyle and Rogelio, trying their best to stay as far from Weaver as possible._

_She couldn’t keep in her sobs any longer. She cried until the sun went down. Cried through dinner and into the night. Lonnie and Octavia would normally have complained, but once they realized what had happened they let up on her a little bit. Catra cried and cried, and she wasn’t sure she could ever stop._

\--

_A week later as Catra was sorting through the laundry (one of her many chores for the week) she came across a t-shirt of Adora’s. It was deep red with black lettering and had a freakish little imp (the Fright Zone High mascot) on it, underneath the words “FZHS Athletics.” Catra held the shirt to her nose and breathed in. It still smelled like her, like Adora. She held back a sob and quickly ran back to her room to tuck it into her pillowcase where it would be safe. She held it close on her worst nights, not daring to wear it and allow Weaver to see it and take away her last piece of happiness, her last piece of comfort._

_Weeks passed, and months. Adora didn’t call._

***

Catra felt tears welling up in her eyes, but before she could make a quick escape to cry in her room like _an adult_ she felt Scorpia’s broad hand on her shoulder.

“You okay?” she asked, looking concerned.

Catra told her everything. About the foster home, about running into Adora and hiding from her, about Adora’s stupid boyfriend, about her feelings for Adora. The ones she had come to realize, at some point, were romantic feelings.

“Wildcat… do you, well, do you think you have feelings for her still?”

Catra wasn’t sure how to answer. “We haven’t spoken in damn near 10 years, Scorp. I don’t know what I feel. She left me, you know? She left me and she just never even fuckin’ called.” Catra felt the tears that had been threatening to spill over all morning finally rolling down her cheeks.

“I know,” Scorpia said. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks again to all who commented and left kudos! we're halfway through, now :) i'll probably post the last 3 chapters over the course of the next week or so


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora is brave, with the help of an old friend

_I, I just miss/ I just miss your accent and your friends_

_Did you know I still talk to them?_

It had been a week since Adora went to Plumeria last. She wasn’t sure if she would go back. Or if she should? Catra had clearly wanted space. Space from Adora, or space from her past, maybe.

Still, Adora found herself on the sidewalk about 3 doors down from the coffee shop. Every time she tried to approach it she lost her nerve. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolled her contacts, and pressed “call.”

“Hey, um, just a sec.” There was some shuffling on the other end of the line and then, “Hey, Dora, long time no speak, huh?”

“Hey, Lonnie,” Adora said, warmly. She and Lonnie had kept in touch sporadically after she had been adopted. Lonnie had told her that Catra had been sullen for a while after she had left, and then she had become mean. She had pushed away every single other kid in the foster home, had started acting out, fighting with Weaver and so on. Adora had asked Lonnie once if she could try and get Catra on the phone, a last ditch attempt, but Lonnie had said she was too afraid of nearly getting her eyes clawed out _again_ and so Adora had let it drop.

“What’s going on, girl?” Lonnie asked. She sounded happy, her voice carrying ever more of the silliness Adora remembered, and less and less of the hardness they had all adapted.

“I… I ran into Catra.” Adora rushed the words out, nearly stumbling over them.

“No shit,” Lonnie said, a little too casually. “And?”

“And, I don’t know, Lon. She was, she seemed happy. Not happy to see me, necessarily, but just happy. She was at work and she made me this like super delicious oat milk latte that was just so good, it must have had like-“

“Adora. Catra. The story. Please?”

“Right, anyways. She made me this coffee and just like said ‘on the house,’ and then she avoided me until they closed like an hour later.”

“Huh, sounds a lot like Catra,” Lonnie said, sighing. “So have you gone back? Like, to see her?”

“Wellllll, that’s kinda the thing. I’m on my way there right now. She might not even be working but I want to see her. But I don’t know if she wants to see me? Does she still hate me? Oh god, what if she still hates me? What if I go in there and she just… I don’t know, yells at me or something? What if she was only being nice because her boss was there and she ha-“

“ADORA!” Lonnie’s voice is so loud Adora pulls the phone from her ear. “Stop. Rambling. You don’t know the answers to any of these questions and you won’t _get_ the answers unless you ask Catra.”

Adora is silent long enough on the other end that Lonnie adds “So, go ask her!”

“Right, right. I’ll just. Yep, I’m just going to walk in there and… talk to her?”

“Listen, Adora. I’m sure you’re scared. But I’ve seen the way you two looked at each other, even as kids.” Adora finds herself blushing furiously at this, but she doesn’t deny it. She and Catra had something special. Something she couldn’t even begin to define then, but that she thinks she can understand a little better now. Lonnie continues, “I don’t want to assume but… listen, if you don’t do it, if you don’t even try to get back in her life, won’t you regret it?”

“Thanks, Lonnie,” Adora says, already walking towards Plumeria, “you’re right.”

\--

The bell over the door jingles pleasantly as Adora walks in. She heads straight up to the counter this time, but the bubbly blonde is there, and Catra is nowhere in sight.

“Hi,” Adora starts out, smiling her most winning smile. “Is, um, is Catra working right now?”

“Hello,” the blonde sing songs, “unfortunately Catra is not working today. Can I tell her who stopped by?”

Adora feels her face fall but she smiles gratefully at the woman. “Sure, my name is Adora.”

The blonde’s face changes almost imperceptibly, but she maintains her composure in the end and just says “I’ll let her know you dropped by. Can I get you anything while you’re here?”

Adora orders a cappuccino and takes it to go.


End file.
